Eager as we were to spare, Mei brought up the fair point that Tauyi was a tad too close for us to truly do anything more than tame Taijutsu. And so we moved further up the cliff and into the mess of the jungle in search of suitable sparring grounds. Midoriwara was a tropical wonderland, quite mountainous and full of exotic plant life. Neither one of us wanted to damage too much. The Nettou clan, Tauyi village more specifically, would come to rely on the resources closest to them as they grew.

In the end we had to settle near the top of a mountain, the land was rugged and uneven, chequered by pockets of steam geysers few as they were now that we stood at higher altitudes but at least the vegetation was sparse.

“Are you ready?” Mei asked, standing around fifteen feet away with her hands on her hips and an eager smile on her lips.

“You’re about to face your Mizukage, are you?”

She laughed and set her left foot out, centre of gravity lowered and left hand raised in a half seal. I matched her form, recalling the fateful night some seven months ago that could have led to us having this spar much earlier. If she dared to throw her hat in the ring back then, would I have become Mizukage?

Then Jason was all I was, full of indecision, fear, and an unfounded arrogance— an unknown variable with a Tailed-Beast. Perhaps the outcome would have remained the same, Mei might have simply made things more interesting, after all, if there was one good thing about Jason’s mind then, it was his dedication to not becoming a puppet, to not becoming a victim.

That hasn’t changed, not one bit.

“Come!”

Mei obliged, she dashed forward, moving with the grace of a flowing stream as she closed the gap between us in nearly an instant. Her hands were a blur as she struck out at me with precision. I caught each of her blows in a fanciful show of strength, not shifting from the spot where I began. She threw a kick at my chin as she backflipped, forcing me to lean back as she made distance once more.

I smirked, raised a brow at her as her sharp green eyes studied me intently for all but a second before dashing out in a zigzag pattern. I readied to counter her flurry this time but was pleasantly surprised when she did away with the preamble.

As her fist travelled to my jaw I caught the unmistakable tell of Water Nature Transformation, a trail of water manifested behind her elbow and would’ve whipped me in the face had I not ducked under. I kicked at her torso in response but she ate the blow, using it to her favour in fact as she seemingly emptied her stomach of lava.

I rolled out of the way, dirtying my clothes rather than be permanently disfigured. I hopped back a few times, extending the space between us as I chuckled, “Quite the escalation there, Mei.”

She wiped her lips of the lava trail, the spot I stood smouldering away as she shrugged, “Anything less for the Lord Fourth would be an insult, besides, I have to get you to put in effort somehow.”

Rather than let me respond she chased after me again, I watched her hands sift through handseals and shook my head. Well, between two Ninjutsu specialists, Taijutsu is simply boring. She pulled out a whip of water from her lips, it extended further than I anticipated but I was well prepared with chakra gathered and transformed at my feet.

A gale of wind propelled me before her whip could strike, she hastily began to abandon the technique just as I entered her guard and palm striked the same spot on her torso I kicked a second ago. She let the force of my strike push her away rather than stand her ground. Good thinking.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

She rolled with the blow and as I pursued after her the ground shuddered, a tell tale sign of— “Earth Release: Earth Flow Spears!”

I stalled my advance entirely as the ground spat out spikes at my feet, I leaped, backflipped and cursed that I hadn’t brought my Bo-staff as I landed several paces away only for the jutsu to continue its run. Annoyed, I weaved a half hand seal and slammed my palm on the ground, my chakra flooded underneath, transformed into a torrential flood of waters that reduced Mei’s spikes to sloppy mud.

But she’d accomplished her goal, a heat from on high alerted me to this fact. A blob of lava came surging down at my head from her elevated position in the air. This time I weaved with both hands as she forced me to counter. Ram, Snake, Rat— “Water Release: Water Bowl!”

A continuous jet of water emitted from my extended palm, slamming into her attack and cancelling it almost instantaneously. The resulting mist did nothing to change the pace or advantage of the battle but my instinctively heightened hearing didn’t miss her footfalls as she landed nor did I miss the surge of chakra as she prepared another technique.

Senses sharpened, I prepared to be on the receiving end of a multiple nature transformations, a part of me anxious Mei take advantage of the mist to unleash perhaps her [Boil Release]. The immediate legitimacy of the made me disperse the mist entirely with a gust of wind.

To my surprise Mei was nowhere to be found, my head snapped around our battered battlegrounds before realization dawned and I cursed, just as the earth beneath my feet crumbled and her hands latched onto both my ankles with a death grip.

As I sunk underground I spat out a ball of water that immediately formed into a clone. Mei revealed herself as we switched places, her fingers ignited with a fire meant for my neck but the petty smirk that graced her lips was quickly wiped when my clone barreled straight into her, tackling her down and extinguishing the flame at her fingers while I muddied the earth trapping me.

I heard her yell a curse and sensed my clone explode. I freed myself of the mud at once and slammed my hands together, creating a pocket of pressurized air as Mei scrambled to her feet, “Wind Release: Gale Palm!”

The gale of wind carried enough force to take Mei off her unfounded feet entirely, lifting and tossing her in the air and nearly off the side of the mountain had I not cancelled the jutsu as I noticed how close to the edge she’d been flung.

She reoriented herself mid air quickly enough to land on her feet and then fall over on her butt, clearly dizzied. I smiled and folded my arms, “Still got some left in you?”

Mei shook her head, pressing a palm to her temple as she stood, “I think I’ve spent enough chakra for today.” she said and then suddenly pointed a finger at me, “But don’t think this means you win! This was a fair draw, Yagura, I almost got you there and then, admit it!”

I rolled my eyes, considering the number of techniques I’d left out for both our sakes, though I imagine she’d done the same. Where I’d held back from using nasty surprises like Fuuinjutsu, Summoning and my [Stage 0 Chakra Cloak], she didn’t unleash her [Lightning Release] or [Boil Release].

“Every spar is a fair draw between friends.” I said with a grin as large as her resulting frown was deep.

“That’s not what I meant. But yes, I suppose it is. This was good, we should do it more often.”

I nodded in agreement as she walked up to me, “Yes, yes we should.”

Mei’s smile fell slightly, “Between my work here and yours…everywhere, I’m guessing we won’t have many opportunities.”

I held that thought for a moment, considering all that I had left to do. The many pressing matters of Kirigakure’s security, it’s growth, management and advancement, pre-empting the Akatsuki and even my personal growth. There was indeed few opportunities in sight to have a friendly spar with Mei or to do anything friendly at all.

Inhaling I said, “That’s alright, I’ll always take what I can get and right now, I think I have a day or two.”

Mei beamed and for a moment I think we both felt our ages. She skipped ahead, beckoning me as she leaped over mud spikes, “Come then! We have a lot of catching up to do, don’t think I don’t know you held back a lot this short spar. Time to fill me in on those Kage secrets!” Mei said, winking as she did.

I snorted but quickly obliged. Just a day or two.